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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Allergic to your cell phone?

When you think about cell phones, what comes to mind? Texting, perhaps, the iphone, or even radiation. But an allergic reaction? In the past few years, scientists have been finding rashes on the faces of teenagers and adults, along the jawline. The cause of these rashes was a mystery, until recently. The New York Times released an article this Tuesday, which linked the rash to Nickel found in cell phone casing.

According to Web MD, "A nickel allergy is a skin reaction that develops after exposure to nickel or items containing the metal." This essentially means that a nickel allergy is caused by touching or wearing nickel for a long period of time. In America, 3% of men have this allergy and 20% of women. This is because many items of jewelry contain nickel. Therefore, the jewelry wearers are more exposed to the nickel. This is the same process that occurs with cell phone users. However, with a cell phone user it is called, "Contact dermatitis with a Nickel allergy". If a person is constantly talking on their cell phone, the face can become hypersensitive to nickel. This hypersensitivity becomes an allergy.

A nickel allergy has several, rather similar, symptoms. The most common are:

  • A rash where the nickel has touched the skin
  • Itching
  • Red areas of skin
  • Dry areas of skin (these can look like burns)
  • Blisters
This allergy can come from other objects as well. Some examples are watchbands, zippers, belt buckles, hairpin, dental fillings, prosthetics, and even the frames of glasses. People with severe nickel allergies must limit their contact with some of these objects, and avoid eating oatmeal, chocolate, nuts, beans and dried fruit; which contain small amount of nickel. 

However, it is possible to treat this allergy. Doctors recommend using steroid creams, such as cortisone, and preventing any further contact by using a headset.



Link to a brief Masher video summarizing the cell phone issue:
http://www.masher.com/player.jsp?key=0dbe76c7-a2bc-cb73-63d8-0000effb001b&adscheme=0



Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/health/23really.html?_r=1&ref=health
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/nickel-jewelry-allergy
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/645796.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nickel-allergy/DS00826/DSECTION=symptoms
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/178/1/23
http://allergies.about.com/b/2008/10/16/mobile-phone-allergy.htm
http://preparednesspro.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/person-on-cell-phone.jpg


7 comments:

  1. I thought it was fascinating that nickle in phone casing is starting to cause alergic reation. I never would have thought this and i was surprised that the cause of facial rashes was just recently linked to this. Thanks for the informative post. I also thought it was surprising that nickle is in all those foods.

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  2. Awesome Post Mayze!
    This is such an interesting topic. It is just another reason why we should decrease our use in cell phones. I also didn't know that there was nickel in food. Your eating metal, which is kind of disgusting. Really great job!

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  3. Wow, Mayze. This is fantastic! What other allergies can nickel cause? Can there be any way of altering these phones to reduce the risk of this allergy? In any case, I most definitely wont talk on the phone as much. :)

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  4. Hey Cuyler!
    Basically, if you have a nickel allergy, you are allergic to any item that contains nickel. Items like belt buckles, hair pins, and even oatmeal contain nickel. This means that, if the allergy is severe, the items that contain nickels can cause rashes on contact. The best way to reduce the liklihood of this allergy would be to make casing without nickel.

    Hope this answers your question!

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  5. Great post Mayze. I think you picked a really interesting project, not because its extraordinary, but because it is something we can all relate to because we all have cell phones. There was one thing I was a little confused about, are you born with a nickel allergy or does it grow overtime? Should everyone be cautious in terms of using your cell phone to long, or wearing a nickel piece of jewelry?

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  6. Great blog post Mayze, I found it very interesting and it's amazing that something as common as using your cell phone can cause a nickel allergy overtime. I guess texting is the best way to go, unless we all get red-rashed thumbs too.

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  7. Mayze!

    I always seem to comment on your posts... hmmm. Anyways! Great post! I never would have thought that talking on the cell phone could bring out allergies... However these days people are allergic to everything...
    Great setup on the post and I loved the language you used to start the post!
    Yay!

    -Megan

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